I remember when I first found my grandmother’s music collection. Her old radio had a CD player and the first song I played was Ella Fitzgerald’s dream a little dream of me. I was so enthralled by the sharp tones of the trumpet and silk feel of her voice. My music taste became a massive focus in my life from that point on. I developed what I like to call “Musical Narcissism”. Fully believing that the tracks in my playlists had to be one of the most scrutinized pieces of literature I owned. If I could, I would create a museum of playlists I have listened to and call it the Museum of Raw Emotional Music. MORE Music if you will.
Then Frank Ocean blew onto the music scene and music just became an escape from the monotone melody’s life had to offer. I had fully had a soundtrack to life. Emotions became associated with the tunes I overplayed, artists suddenly became painters on a production canvas, and we became critiques of their pieces. Rap, Pop, RnB, Indie, Rock, House, and Dance with new genres being in the works exploded into this plethora of feels and colours that we now cannot seem to perform tasks without. We all have a playlist for our morning routine, infatuations, studying, sex, and lonely nights but these recommendations I am about to list out will have you grabbing unto the aux chord with the same musical narcissism that I brag about every day.
1. ALONA CHEMERYS
If you are a big fan of Tame Impala, Men I Trust, and Still Woozy, then I have good news for you. Most indie and bedroom pop listeners tend to be gatekeepers. Personally, I never wanted to talk about this playlist the first few months I listened to it. I found this creator on YouTube because I got tired of listening to the same overplayed songs on social media. My recommendations on YouTube had led me into a deep spiral of underground artists who had soft instruments backing their poetic lyricism with a fan base that consisted of niche gatekeepers in their comment section who hoped TikTok wouldn’t claim their favourites and turn it into overplayed tunes that we would all love then eventually couldn’t stand. The very first song on the playlist is “Intro-“ by Mild Orange followed by four other brilliant songs from the same band which slowly introduces you to the brilliance of the playlist. It features other artists such as Triathlon, Puma Blue, SALES, Satchy, Lounge FM, Correatown, Sunset Rollercoaster, Micheal Seyer, Why These Coyotes, Her’s, Cuco, TEMPOREX, Jakob, Monsune and Seasalt. These artists mostly produce their own music themselves in their basements or garages which gives you an intimate feel of their art. I have felt every emotion that needs to be felt from this playlist and I highly recommend a listen. At the time of writing this article, there are currently 21,460 likes on the playlist with over 15 hours’ worth of tunes. This playlist would always be one of the most carefully drafted pieces of literature in my book which is why I fully believe it should be included in MORE Music (Is this catching on lol?)
2. NO, I DON’T SKATE
I mean that quite literally. I created this playlist for the genius music production and the black experience. Most of these songs have been gathered due to my fascination with music production. However, people I know who skate tend to take interest in this playlist. I mean I would love to listen to this playlist if I could skate but my lack of balance while doing mundane things like walking, seems to come between me and my pro skating career (Tony Hawk better thank his lucky stars). This is a certified “Pass me the AUX. Trust me” playlist. I personally take pride in this playlist because it is heavily influenced by black artists and the cultural reset behind the genre of music they produce. RnB, Hip Hop, Rap and other black inspired genres are mostly influenced by 90’s HipHop with artists and producers sampling flows, beats and style from an iconic time in Hip Hop history. There should be no reason why this playlist should be featured in a museum. The black experience alone in itself has modified trends in music genres, fashion, art, and dance (especially TikTok dances). Artists included in this playlist include; Tyler the Creator, Denzel Curry, Smino, Tobi Lou, BROCKHAMPTON, Kendrick Lamar, 21 Savage, A$AP Rocky, Baby Keem, Freddie Gibbs, Amine, Saba, Thundercat, MF DOOM, Isiah Rashad and Odd Future. With almost 7 hours’ worth of Hip Hop, I can guarantee you that simply throwing a chill house party with this playlist would be worth more than a night out clubbing.
3. SUNNY DAYS AND SUNSETS WITH YOU
I will fully admit that is the soundtrack to how I hope my love life would have. Every song in this playlist is a love letter written to a significant other that you either hope to one day spend the rest of your life with, either in a cottage in the countryside in Italy or in a New York apartment with the busy streets humming quietly as you bask in the comfort of each other. This playlist does not just talk about the good parts of love. It plays the pain, frustration, jealousy, anger and heartbreak that comes along with the sweet tunes of infatuation. This is the perfect playlist to listen to with your partner or if you are like me, you can dream of the life you and your crush could possibly have if you were confident enough to approach them. Apart from the romantic love jams, there are also several songs included in this playlist that would get you in a groovy mood, groovy enough to have you and a friend of two have a mini dance party in your room. This playlist is packed with feel good emotions and guaranteed to boost your serotonin levels. It is even good enough to start your day with positive energy or have the LED’s in your room feel like a main character movie set. Artists who are guaranteed to have you and your partner down to boogie in this playlist include; Steve Lacy, bLAck pARty, Del Water Gap, Young Folks, and NEIL FRANCES. Other artists that would have you in your feels or have you reading those cliché romcoms include; Kevin Abstract, Blood Orange, Q, Choker and Yellow Days. Without a doubt would I feature these lists of songs in the Museum. We should celebrate love regardless of what type or form it is and this playlist does exactly that.